We are delighted to welcome Karen Miles, who joined us as a Trustee in 2024.
To help you get to know them better, we asked Karen a few questions about their background, their interests, and what motivated them to become a Trustee for the National Botanic Garden of Wales.
Please tell us a little about your background and why this is relevant to your role as a Trustee at the NBGW?
My name is Karen Miles. I live in Carmarthenshire with my husband and son, both of whom are sheep farmers on our family farm. Having retired in 2020, my current position is general organiser and bottle-washer but once upon a time I was an Executive Director in Hywel Dda University Health Board, and held two statutory Board roles – firstly, as Executive Director of Finance and latterly as Executive Director of Planning, Performance, Informatics & Commissioning.
I’m hopeful that my skills and lived experience both personally and professionally can be of some value in consolidating and expanding the vision and reputation of the NBGW in advancing and sharing knowledge in the science of plants as well as inspiring appreciation of flora, Welsh culture, and heritage.
Why are you committing your time and expertise to being a Trustee of the NBGW?
Being married to an enlightened sheep farmer, we have always believed that our business sustainability should go hand in hand with careful stewardship of the countryside – for now, for our son’s future, and hopefully his family’s future – it’s been the way we’ve farmed from day 1. We have grown the farm from 15 acres to 150 acres and we have achieved this together through hard work, determination, compromise, and an enthusiastic and adaptable focus on our objective – which is to run a successful and thriving family farm in the community and country we love. I can’t think of a better way to extend the ‘community’ in my life, and most importantly the ‘wellbeing’ of that community, than to get involved with the NBGW, and it commitment to sharing and inspiring all of nature’s wonders.
What is your favourite part of the Garden and why?
I think it would be the walled garden because of the wonderful range of beautiful flowers, their glorious colours, and the busy bees – for me, it epitomises summertime, and it enriches my soul.
Do you have a favourite plant or tree and if so, why is it your favourite?
My favourite – the rainbow eucalyptus, a beautifully arresting giant wonder of nature that shows that trees, like human beings, come in all shapes, sizes and colours.